Children spend a large part of the school year colds, with a cough and his inseparable snot, sounds familiar, right? Nasal congestion produces a very unpleasant sensation, not being able to breathe normally and above for children, not knowing how to blow your snot complicates the situation even more. That gesture, which for any adult is habitual and almost mechanical, requires a learning process like the rest of life's lessons.
To begin with, it is important to know that children do not understand the concept of "blowing through the nose", which is what you do when you blow your nose. But in addition to making this gesture, it is necessary for the child to have some control of his fingers, to be able to handle the handkerchief correctly and to be able to clean his nose correctly. Once this is clear, we are going to see some tricks so that you can teach your child to blow his nose.
First of all, arm yourself with a good dose of patience
You already know that with children it is necessary to apply large doses of patience. The little ones need their time to process the information, to apply what they have learned and above all, to perfect what you are trying to teach them. But also it is necessary to take into account the degree of maturity of each child, which is not something that marks his age.
Teach your kids to blow their snot in phases, every day play with them for a while with some of the tricks that we are going to see below and allow them to practice and play as much as they want. Be patient and soon you will see how your little one does with this very common gesture, which will accompany him for the rest of his life.
The first phase: learning to blow through the mouth
Before learning to blow through your nose, it is necessary that the child knows how to blow through the mouth. These are some simple games for the child to learn this gesture.
- Make soap bubbles: All children love soap bubbles, this simple toy is perfect for them to learn to blow.
- Bubbles with a straw: You only need a glass with water and colored straws. They will have a blast once they learn to blow and see how they are able to form bubbles.
The second phase: learning to blow through the nose
Once the child has controlled blowing through the mouth, they can learn to blow through the nose. But the child will not differentiate one action or another, so you have to teach him that they are different acts. You can use these tricks:
- Continue with the straw: But in this case, while the child is blowing through his mouth to make bubbles, compress the straw with your fingers. What will happen is that the air pressure will produce a nasal aspiration automatically.
- Put flour or a light material on the table: Ask the child to blow with his nose to make the object move.
The third phase: Learn to do the forceps with your fingers
The child needs to acquire a certain skill with his little fingers so that you can hold the tissue to your nose and exert the necessary pressure. You can use these games to work fine motor skills:
- Open and close the clothespins: Take a plastic container and fill it with clothespins. Show your child where to squeeze so that the clamp opens and place it on the rim of the container. Let the child attach as many tweezers as he wants and repeat the exercise from time to time.
The Fourth Phase: Blowing Your Snot with a Handkerchief
At this point, it only remains to practice a lot and with a lot of patience. Give the child a tissue and take your other one, show him how to do it. There is no better learning than that of imitation, stand next to him and explain step by step how he has to do it.
The trick is as follows, the child has to hold the handkerchief with both hands and bring it to his nose. With a finger you have to cover one of the holes and blowing hard through the nose to expel snot.
It is important to practice, so that the child can learn to blow their snot independently. But to achieve this you need to go through the previous phases, without the agility in your fingers and without knowing how to blow through your nose, you will not be able to learn to perform that gesture.